Batter Up! Sport Spectator Liability and Navigating the Assumption of Risk, Published in the New York Law Journal

In an article published on February 6 in the New York Law Journal, Segal McCambridge Shareholder and Chair of the Sports, Recreation & Entertainment Practice Group Carla Varriale-Barker revisits the “Baseball Rule” in the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in Akins v. Glens Falls City School Dist. She assesses the limitations of liability for spectator injury claims and clarifies the distinction between the primary assumption of risk and the Baseball Rule.  

“Akins established that the duty of care owed to spectators at a baseball game is a limited one,” said Varriale-Barker. “A stadium owner or operator satisfies its duty by providing screening behind home plate, the area of greatest danger, and ensuring that such screening is sufficient to protect as many spectators as may be reasonably expected to desire such seating. The owner or operator is not required to screen all seating sections or eliminate inherent risks in the sport.”  

“The doctrine of primary assumption of the risk and the Baseball Rule are distinct defenses, but they should both be raised on behalf of the owner or operator of a baseball facility. They are distinct avenues to establish the absence of a duty of care owed to a spectator,” said Varriale-Barker. 

Read the story in full: click here (subscriber-based).